House prices robust north of border

The Scottish house price boom may be over, but prices across the country are still rising, according to the latest Lloyds TSB Scotland House Price Monitor.

In the three months to April 30th, the quarterly price index for the average domestic property in Scotland rose by 4.0% to give an average mix adjusted house price of £133,968. Average prices have now risen for 21 consecutive quarters.

The largest annual rise was recorded in Dundee at 30.3%. However, with a quarterly rise of just 1.5%, it can be seen that the large annual figure is attributable, in the main, to a price rise in the middle of last year, rather than to a recent surge.

Meanwhile, prices in Aberdeen remain quite volatile with a fall at the end of last year now being followed by a quarterly rise of 9.4%. Elsewhere, Glasgow and Edinburgh have both recorded quarterly and annual rises, with Edinburgh showing the least signs of any volatility. And the latter showing the highest average house price at £182,452.

Outside the main cities, annual rises of between 12 and 18% were reported, with Central, Fife, Perth and Tayside showing the highest quarterly growth of 5.8%.

In terms of property types, the average all-Scotland price for a detached house now stands at £205,303; semi-detached - £131,084; terraced - £105,555 and flat - £107,789.

Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist, Lloyds TSB Scotland, makes the point that affordability of house purchase in Scotland has improved since the last quarter, while consumer confidence has increased.

Economic growth in Scotland equalled that of the UK at the end of last year, while business surveys pointed to improved prospects for 2006 of growth nearer to 2%.

"The Scottish house price boom may have subsided, but robust price growth continues," MacRae noted.

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2006-05-17 11:36:59 © Moneyextra.com